The Comics Journal

“I’m a comic-book writer who wears a headscarf,” says G. Willow Wilson.”That should be a contradiction.” Indeed, in a time when the news is riddled with stories about violence over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, and the ties between the West and the Middle East are increasingly strained, those characteristics could easily be dismissed as conflicting. But Wilson chooses to write not only about how the West and the Middle East conflict, but how they complement each other.

Wilson made her debut in the comics medium with her book Cairo, which she collaborated on with artist M.K. Perker (and with whom she is currently collaborating on their ongoing Vertigo series, Air). Originally from Colorado, Wilson now splits her time between Seattle, Wash., and Cairo, Egypt. In her new memoir, The Butterfly Mosque, she shares her love of Islam; how she became immersed in Egyptian life; and the difficulties she had reconciling her love for both Western and Middle Eastern culture.

During their recent interview in Seattle, which took place on June 11, 2010, Wilson spoke to Ian Burns about her career thus far, her experiences in the comics industry and a concept she calls “hyperpraxis.”